he gets away to Fairview before it is too late. Promise me you will.”
Darcy squeezed her grandmother’s hand. “I promise.”
Madeline leaned her head back against the chair. “ ’Tis well, Darcy. Now you will see how God mends the breaches.”
26
Back in the lonely wing, inside the neglected room, Darcy approached her father’s bedside. Propped up on pillows, he made short, quick efforts to breathe, his flesh moist. She laid her ear against his chest and listened. Soft gurgles of liquid infected his lungs. Earlier in the morning, he seemed better, but now he had returned to the struggle.
Mrs. Burke drew up behind her. “He has not improved, miss.”
“When I woke this morning, he seemed better.” That he could regress so quickly worried Darcy. She laid her hand across her father’s brow. His skin felt cool to the touch, yet perspiration beaded on his skin. “He needs a doctor. Tell me where to go and I’ll bring him back.”
“The closest I imagine is hours from here. I haven’t known a doctor in these parts since I was a young girl. There isn’t enough time to find one.”
Darcy bit her lower lip. “I need to send word to Fairview and ask my mother and Mr. Brennan to come.”
Mrs. Burke stepped back to Darcy, her hands folded over her breast. “Oh, no, miss. Mr. Langbourne will be returning.”
“How can you be sure?” Darcy asked.
Mrs. Burke hesitated. “He told me so. I know him well enough to say he would do your father harm. He hates him that much, and Eliza as well.”
“But he is too ill to travel, and how would I get him there? I need Mr. Brennan.”
“I will go to Reverend Reed.” Mrs. Burke stepped through the door. “He is close by and will help us.”
Darcy nodded in agreement. “Please, hurry and bring him back.”
“I’ll go right away, Darcy. Now don’t you worry. We will see your father through,” Mrs. Burke said, as she hastened out the door.
Hayward lifted himself and reached out to touch Darcy’s arm. “I must get to Eliza. No more waiting.”
“No, Papa. You are not well enough.”
He reached for his boots. “Help me with these, child.”
She snatched them up and put them behind her back. “You must wait. The vicar is coming, and with his aid we will leave for Fairview.”
He looked up at her, his eyes glistening with hope. “I will see your mother at last? You swear it?”
She touched his cheek. “Yes.”
Mrs. Burke had not been gone a quarter of an hour when Darcy heard the beat of a horse coming down the drive. Her heart swelled, hoping it were Ethan. She rushed to the window and looked down. Disappointed, and fearing for her father, she drew back when she saw Langbourne swing down from his saddle. Mrs. Burke had been right.
The front door slammed shut. The sound reverberated throughout the old house, and the anxious churning in Darcy’s chest trembled through her limbs. She hurried away from the window and to her father.
“Papa.” She placed her hands on his shoulders. He looked at her. “Langbourne has returned. You must stay quiet. Do not attempt to move from the room.”
“I do not care if he finds me. He took my letters and I want them back.”
“Please, Papa. Stay here until I return. You shall have your letters one way or the other.”
Faint as it were, she heard Langbourne call out for Mrs. Burke, then for her. He deserved to wait. He had taken her mother’s letters, treated her father cruelly, and she would not hurry to his beck and call. The urge to confront him brimmed over as her hand gripped the door handle.
She went out into the narrow hallway and down the servant’s stairs at the rear of the house. Her steps soundless, she approached the landing. Down to the next floor she went and within reach of the broad staircase that led down to the first floor a shadow crossed the wall below. With a catch of her breath, she froze. Dread prickled over her skin. A blast of winter, a heartless soul, had returned to the house. His shadow grew larger and Langbourne halted a few steps below when their eyes met.
Hatless, his hair looked uncombed, wisps curling about the edge of his neckcloth. His eyes were weary and he narrowed them upon sight of her. “Confound it, Darcy. This house is like a tomb. Where is everyone? Why did you take so long?”